Social Justice beyond Human Beings: Trans-species Social Justice

Matsuoka, Atsuko; Sorenson, John

doi:10.1057/9781137372291_5

Cited by 14 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This may reflect the dominant theoretical approach on human-animal relations which emphasises individualistic human-animal bonds. A Critical Animal Studies approach, as demonstrated here, will be useful to unveil intertwined systemic oppressions to explore social justice beyond species, trans-species social justice (Matsuoka & Sorenson, 2014). In order for social workers to understand complex intersectionality, we need to include transspecies social justice, speciesism and a Critical Animal Studies perspective in social work education.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These changes in perceptions of and experiences within families suggest social work practitioners and educators in this century need to reconsider the current anthropocentric paradigm and professional ethical commitment (Ryan, 2011). T he purpose of this paper is to discuss key findings from a scoping review study on housing and non-institutionalised older adults living in communities with companion animals from a Critical Animal Studies perspective, specifically a transspecies social justice framework (Matsuoka & Sorenson, 2014. By doing so, we will bring the core social work value, social justice, to the centre of discussion on human-animal relations.…”

Section: Original Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

No pets allowed: A trans-species social justice perspective to address housing issues for older adults and companion animals

Matsuoka

Sorenson

Graham

et al. 2020

ANZSWJ

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

INTRODUCTION: Significant benefits of companion animals (i.e., pets) for older adults are recognized and publications on Animal-Assisted Intervention, Animal-Assisted Activities and Animal-Assisted Therapies with older adults are growing. Studies on housing and community- residing older adults with companion animals from a non-utilitarian perspective on other animals, however, are rather limited.METHODS: For this scoping review, we used a Critical Animal Studies perspective, in particular, a trans-species social justice framework to address two questions: “What are the scope and size of the literature on housing for community living older adults with companion animals?” and “What is known from the existing literature?” We searched peer-reviewed publications from 1980 to 2019 by using MEDLINE, PsychINFO, ProQuest and Scopus.FINDINGS: Six works from Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand and US met our criteria. A disturbing reality was discovered: Restrictive leasing (‘no pets’ for rental housing) among low-income older adults with companion animals in public housing has persisted for the last 40 years and prevents them from accessing affordable housing. Also, the discourse of pets as problems or risk seems to justify prohibiting older adults from living with companion animals.CONCLUSION: Utilising the concept of speciesism and a trans-species social justice framework for analysis, we argue that intersectional institutional oppression of speciesism and classism is a root cause of the situation. Justice for older adults cannot be achieved without justice for their companion animals. Future studies in human–animal relations and education and practice in social work need to incorporate ideas of speciesism and justice beyond humans.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Original Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

No pets allowed: A trans-species social justice perspective to address housing issues for older adults and companion animals

Matsuoka

Sorenson

Graham

et al. 2020

ANZSWJ

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The broad principles of One Health and more specifically HAI, including zooeyia, can be incorporated within existing courses, such as human behaviour in the environment, practice methods including clinical processes, antioppressive practice, social policy, international social work practice, community development, field education and, importantly, ethics including a section on animal and environmental ethics. This could permit innovative approaches to the exploration of parallel health and welfare inequities-social determinants of health-for humans and animals (Card, Epp, & Lem, 2018) and consideration of social justice for other than human beings (Matsuoka & Sorenson, 2014).…”

Section: Zooeyia In Social Work Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recognizing Animals as an Important Part of Helping

Chalmers

Dell

Dixon

et al. 2020

csw

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The beneficial role of companion animals on human health and wellbeing across the life span is well documented in the rapidly expanding multi disciplinary body of literature known as human animal interactions (HAI). Social workers practice at the interface of people and their diverse environments. The presence of human animal bonds (HAB) within client systems, between people and companion animals in particular, are increasingly acknowledged and valued by social workers. Additionally, some social workers incorporate animals in their practice through animal assisted interventions (AAI). However, there is a paucity of empirical literature on social workers’ knowledge about and experiences with the inclusion of animals. We conducted a survey across three prairie provinces in Canada, replicating a study that was first implemented nationwide in the U.S. and later in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The survey explored social workers’ knowledge of HAI in social work. The results, similar to the Nova Scotia and U.S. findings, suggest that s social workers have general knowledge about HAI and the HAB, and that some do incorporate animals in practice. Social workers seem to have increasing knowledge and skills about HAI. While this is a positive trend, there is nonetheless a need for specialized education and training on the beneficial impact that companion animals can have on social work practice. In this paper, the application of zooeyia within social work is adopted as one approach to understanding HAB. Important implications for human health and wellbeing and social work practice at the practitioner and organizational levels are discussed.

show abstract

“…Boetto suggests that this human-centric bias in social work needs shifting towards a recognition of the "holism and interdependence with the natural world" ( 2019 , p. 139). Interspecies or trans-species justice refers to the need to recognise all animals as co-equals with an intrinsic value that is not dependent on their use value to human animals ( Matsuoka & Sorenson, 2014 ). A purist ethical position states that nonhuman animals should not be used or killed for human consumption or otherwise used for sport, entertainment and research ( Francione & Charlton, 2013 ).…”

Section: Eco-activism and Social Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eco-activism and Social Work

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Social workers are called upon to shift from a human-centric bias to an ecological ethical sensibility by embracing love as integral to their justice mission and by extending the idea of social justice to include environmental and species justice. This book presents the love ethic model as a way to do eco-justice work using public campaigns, research, community arts practice and other nonviolent, direct action strategies. The model is premised on an active and ongoing commitment to the eco-values of love, eco-justice and nonviolence for the purpose of upholding the public interest. The love ethic model is informed by the stories of eco-activists who used nonviolent actions to address ecological issues such as: pollution; degradation of the environment; exploitation of farm animals; mining industry overriding First Nation Peoples' land rights; and human health and social costs related to the natural resource industries, private land developments and government infrastructure projects. Informed by practice insights by activists from a range of eco-justice concerns, this innovative book provides new directions in social work and environmental studies involving transformational change leadership and dialogical group work between interest groups. It should be considered essential reading for social work students, researchers and practitioners as well as eco-activists more generally.

show abstract

Social Justice beyond Human Beings: Trans-species Social Justice

Cited by 14 publications

References 18 publications

No pets allowed: A trans-species social justice perspective to address housing issues for older adults and companion animals

No pets allowed: A trans-species social justice perspective to address housing issues for older adults and companion animals

Recognizing Animals as an Important Part of Helping

Eco-activism and Social Work

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About